elegance and beauty, when duly blended together, to compofitions of all kinds whatever; and point out to my readers, the particular force of each, in those compofitions in nature and art, which seem most to please and entertain the eye, and give that grace and beauty which is the subject of this enquiry. The principles I

mean, are FITNESS, VARIETY, UNIFORMITY, SIMPLICITY, INTRICACY, and QUANTITY;-all which co-operate in the production of beauty, mutually correcting and restraining each other occafionally.

THE

THE

ANALYSIS

O F

BEAUTY.

F

CHAPTER I.

Of FITNESS.

ITNESS of the parts to the defign for which every individual thing is formed, either by art or nature, is first to be confidered, as it is of the greateft confequence to the beauty of the whole. This is fo evident, that even the fenfe of feeing, the great inlet of beauty, is itself so strongly biased by it, that if the mind, on account of this kind of value in a form, efteem it beautiful, tho' on all other confiderations it be not fo; the eye grows infenfible of its want of beauty, and even begins to be pleased, especially after it has been a confiderable time acquainted with it.

It is well known on the other hand, that forms of great elegance often difguft the eye by being improperly applied. Thus twisted columns are undoubtedly ornamental; but as they convey an idea of weakness, they always difplease, when they are improperly made ufe of as fupports to any thing that is bulky, or appears heavy.

The bulks and proportions of objects are governed by fitness and propriety. It is this that has established the fize and proportion of chairs, tables, and all forts of utenfils and furniture. It is this that has fixed the dimenfions of pillars, arches, &c. for the fupport of great weight, and fo regulated all the orders in architecture, as well as the fizes of windows and doors, &c. Thus though a building were ever so large, the steps of the stairs, the feats in the windows must be continued of their usual heights, or they would lose their beauty with their fitness: and in ship-building, the dimenfions of every part are confined and regulated by fitness for failing. When a veffel fails well, the failors always call her a beauty; the two ideas have fuch a connexion !

The general dimenfions of the parts of the human body are adapted thus to the uses they are defigned for. The trunk is the most capacious on account of the quantity of its contents, and the thigh is larger than the leg, because it hath both the leg and foot to move, the leg only the foot, &c.

Fitness of parts alfo conftitutes and distinguishes in a great measure the characteristics of objects; as for example, the race-horse differs as much in quality, or character, from the war-horse, as to its figure, as the Hercules from the Mercury.

The race-horse, having all its parts of such dimenfions as beft fit the purposes of speed, acquires on that account a confiftent character of one fort of beauty. To illuftrate this, fuppofe the beautiful head and gracefully turned neck of the war-horse were placed on the fhoulders of the race-horse, instead of his own awkward ftraight one: it would difguft, and deform, instead of adding beauty; because the judgment would condemn it as unfit.

P. I.

The Hercules, by Glicon †, hath all its parts finely + Fig. 3. fitted for the purposes of the utmost strength, the texture of the human form will bear. The back, breast and shoulders have huge bones, and muscles adequate to the supposed active strength of its upper parts; but as less strength was required for the lower parts, the judicious fculptor, contrary to all modern rule of enlarging every part in proportion, leffened the size of the muscles gradually down towards the feet; and for the fame reason made the neck larger in circumference than any part of the head; otherwise the * figure would have been burdened with an unneceffary weight, which would have been a draw-back from his ftrength, and in confequence of that, from its characteristic beauty. Thefe

* Fig. 4. p. I.

These feeming faults, which fhew the fuperior anatomical knowledge as well as judgment of the ancients, are not to be found in the leaden imitations of it near Hyde-park. These saturnine geniuses imagined they knew how to correct fuch apparent disproportions.

These few examples may be fufficient to give an idea of what I mean, (and would have understood) by the beauty of fitness, or propriety.

CHA P. II.

Of VARIETY.

HOW great a fhare variety has in producing beauty may be seen in the ornamental part of nature. The shapes and colours of plants, flowers, leaves, the paintings in butterflies wings, fhells, &c. feem of little other intended use, than that of entertaining the eye with the pleasure of variety.

All the fenfes delight in it, and equally are averse to famenefs. The ear is as much offended with one even continued note, as the eye is with being fixed to a point, or to the view of a dead wall.

Yet when the eye is glutted with a fucceffion of variety, it finds relief in a certain degree of fameness; and even plain space becomes agreeable; and properly introduced, and contrafted with variety, adds to it more variety.

I mean